What if When the Levee Breaks
by Katy M VT
Summary: What if Castiel didn't let Sam out?  AU Chapter 4 of 4 up.
1. Panic Room

What if Castiel didn't let Sam out?

Dean opened the tiny window/door to the panic room to check on his brother.

"Dean, let me out," Sam said, when the noticed the window opening. "This isn't funny."

"You've got that right," Dean said. "You're staying in there until you dry out."

"You're turning this into some ridiculous drug intervention?" Sam asked. Dean was such an idiot. "I'm not drinking the demon blood for kicks. I'm doing it to get strong enough to kill Lillith."

"This is as far from strong as you can get. This is weak, pathetic," Dean said and shut the window. He didn't want to talk to Sam anymore. This wasn't his brother. Not now. Hopefully when he dried out, he would be again.

He went up the stairs with Sam's screams of "LET ME OUT!" following him. It was hard listening to him scream like that, but he had to be strong. He hesitated for just a moment and then he continued up the stairs.

"How's he doing?" Bobby asked.

Before Dean could answer, they heard screaming coming from downstairs. "How long is this going to last?" Dean asked.

"Let me check my demon detox manual," Bobby said, reaching for his books. "Oh, that's right nobody ever wrote one."

Dean rolled his eyes. Now was not the time for sarcasm.

"Cas!" he yelled.

"You really think your angel pal is going to be able to help with this?" Bobby asked. They had seemed pretty useless up until this point. Besides, he was still mad that this Castiel guy had knocked him out at their first meeting. He had had a headache for days afterwards.

"Maybe he can insta-detox Sam, or something," Dean said.

"I can't," Castiel said as he appeared immediately beside Dean.

"You scared me," Dean complained.

"You just called me."

"Can Sam do it? Can he kill Lillith?" Dean asked. This was the last thing he wanted for Sam, but they needed to consider all their options.

"Probably, but there are two reasons why he shouldn't."

When Cas didn't say anything else, Bobby prompted, "Well, what are they?"

"First of all, he would need to consume more demon blood. The amount of blood he would need to consume would change him forever. He would most likely become the next thing you would want to hunt."

"Well, that's reason enough for me, but what's the second reason?" Dean asked.

"All the seals have been broken except for the last one. I just found out that Lillith is the last seal."

"What does that mean? Lillith is the last seal?"

"It means that when she dies Lucifer will walk free," Castiel said.

"So, we have to actively try to keep her alive?" Dean asked. That went against everything he believed in.

"No. Ruby's knife won't work on her. You saw that it was pretty useless against Alistair and she's stronger than he was. The Colt has been destroyed. The only thing that can kill Lillith is your brother."

"Great. We tell him that and he won't want to kill her. Problem solved," Dean said.

"You sure about that?" Bobby asked.

"Bobby, Sam wants to stop the Apocalypse, not start it," Dean protested. His brother may have made a big mistake drinking demon blood, but it was for a good cause.

"That may be how it started out, but he's addicted. No telling what an addict will do. Not even one who started out with as good a heart as Sam's."

SSS

Sam was pulling on the door, trying to get it opened, but he knew there was no point. Bobby wouldn't build a panic room he could get out of.

"Hey, Sammy," he heard behind him.

Sam spun around. "Gordon?" You're dead."

"Looks like I was right about you all along, Sammy. You're evil," Gordon said, with a grin, as he pulled out a knife. "Dean locked you in here so that I could kill you."

"No, that's not true," Sam said, knowing that it probably was. Dean had said some pretty mean things to him earlier. Dean didn't understand. How could he, when he was so weak and pathetic? That's why Dean had called him weak and pathetic. Because he was. Dean was just jealous of all the stuff Sam could do, how strong he was.

Gordon advanced on him with the knife. He plunged it into Sam's gut, and Sam screamed.

Upstairs, the two hunters and the angels listened to the screams with sadness.

SSS

"Hello, Ruby."

Ruby turned around to see Zachariah. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I've sent Castiel to let Sam Winchester out of the room. Now we just need to wait for him to contact you." They had been working together for a while. Zachariah remembered Lucifer from before he was thrown down to the pit. He had been his favorite brother. Everyone else thought Michael was the best big brother ever, but Zachariah knew better. He wanted to let Lucifer out of the cage and then he would be Lucifer's favorite little brother. Together they would rule the world. Unfortunately, he needed this demon to accomplish the task. Hopefully, Lucifer would let him have some fun with her after this was all over. He heard about torture, but had never actually gotten to do it to anyone.

"Why didn't you let him out yourself?" Ruby asked. Seemed like it would have been a smarter idea than to entrust this important task to someone else. Someone who wasn't even in on the plan.

"Other angels like Castiel. When it's found out that he let Sam out to free Lucifer, he'll be hated. I don't want him as a rallying point after Lucifer kills Michael."

Ruby nodded her head. She understood all about jockeying for position. Besides torture, it was one of the number one pastimes in Hell.


	2. Unholy Alliance

"It won't take Zachariah long to figure out I haven't let Sam out," Castiel said.

"What should we do?" Dean asked. He knew the panic room wasn't angel-proof.

"I can carve sigils on his ribs and on yours to hide you from angels. Then I can move you someplace else."

"Where?"

"Anywhere you want to go. You shouldn't stay here. Zachariah will come looking."

"We can't move Sam to a non-secure location. He'll escape," Bobby said.

"Not if we explain what's going on," Dean said.

"Are you sure about that?" Bobby asked once again.

"Only one way to find out," Dean said and headed down the stairs to talk to Sam.

He opened up the little window. "Sam, I just found something out. I think you should know."

"What?" Sam asked. He was still exhausted from his bout with Gordon. He knew he was hallucinating, but it felt real.

"Lillith is the last seal. If you kill her, you'll set Lucifer free."

"How do you know that?" Sam asked. It sounded preposterous.

"Cas told me."

"So, now what?"

"Cas says Zachariah is in on this, but he can hide us from him. But he'll have to move us. Sam, I need you to promise me that you won't try to get away."

"Yeah, of course," Sam said. If killing Lillith was going to start the Apocalypse, he wanted no part of it.

SSS

"This is taking too long. I don't think he's going to do it," Zachariah said to Ruby.

"Who, Castiel?" Ruby clarified.

"Yes. I'm going to have to take this into my own hands."

SSS

Bobby, Dean, and Castiel walked into the panic room. "Sam's on board. Let's get out of here," Dean said.

Castiel placed his hands on Dean, Sam, and then Bobby. They each bent over in pain. "You are now hidden from angels. Where should I take you?"

"Hotel?" Dean asked.

"Sam is not done detoxing. He may be too loud for that," Castiel said.

"Abandoned house?"

"Jimmy's house. Amelia and Claire went to her parents," Sam said.

"Good thinking, Sam," Dean praised. He was glad to see that Sam still had his faculties about him.

Cas beamed them all there. As soon as they were gone, Zachariah materialized in the panic room. When he saw they were gone he tried to locate them with his angel radar, but got nothing.

SSS

Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Cas materialized in Jimmy's house. "You should tie him down," Castiel said. He didn't trust Sam right now.

"Seriously?" Dean asked.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea," Bobby said. "It will keep him safe."

"It's OK, Dean," Sam said. He was getting a bit chilled and the last time that happened, he ended up getting tortured by Gordon. "Hurry."

They went upstairs to the bedroom and tied Sam down with sheets. There was no real reason not to stay in the same room with him, so they decided to just sit with him. It was hard to watch him scream when it started, but Dean hoped that he was comforted by his presence.

SSS

"They were gone," Zachariah informed Ruby when he popped back.

"Well, can't you find them?"

"No. Castiel must have carved sigils into them or something. What about you?"

"No. I gave them hex bags a while ago to hide them from demons."

"Great! You've spent a lot of time with Sam and you're not totally unfamiliar with Dean. Where do you think they would go?" Zachariah asked.

"They would probably want an abandoned house or warehouse if Sam's detoxing from my blood."

"That doesn't help too much."

"Wait. Sam called me yesterday looking for more blood. He was calling from Illinois."

"That's it. Castiel had to abandon his vessel for a bit. His vessel's house is probably empty. That's where they went.

SSS

Sam had fallen asleep and he woke up. "Can I have some water?" He was so hot.

"Sure. Bobby can you get him some?"

Bobby rolled his eyes and got up. Should have known Dean wouldn't want to leave Sam even to get him water.

"Where's Cas?" Sam asked. He had noted some animosity from the angel earlier.

"He went to take care of something. He didn't say what."

"Oh," Sam said.

"Hello, boys," Zachariah said as he and Ruby materialized in front of them. "Ruby, untie him."

"Stay away from him," Dean said, but Zachariah touched him and knocked him out. "Get my knife from him," Ruby said as she finished untying Sam.

Zachariah reached behind Dean and grabbed the knife. Bobby had heard the commotion and came running in. Zachariah knocked him out, too. Zachariah, Ruby, and Sam then disappeared and reappeared in the pretty angel room.

"Who are they?" Sam asked. There were five people standing in a devil's trap. Which of course meant they weren't people , but demons.

"Sam, you need to drink more blood than I can got so you can kill Lillith," Ruby said.

"No. Castiel said that killing Lillith is the last seal."

"That's ridiculous. Does that even make sense?" Zachariah asked.

"No. But in my experience, whether or not something makes sense has no bearing on whether or not it's true," Sam said.

"Well, whatever. Castiel was lying to you," Ruby said.

Sam was confused. He had never been so confused in his whole life. "Maybe we should ask Dean." He trusted Dean to think for him right now. It hadn't always been that way and it probably wouldn't be that way again, but he definitely didn't trust himself right now.

"Dean's been fooled by Castiel. He's a rogue angel," Zachariah said.

"But you're the one working with a demon."

"So are you."

Sam couldn't argue with the logic of that, but he still didn't know what to do.

Ruby knew what to do, though. She cut her arm. The second Sam smelt her blood, he couldn't resist any more. He walked over to her. "You can only have this if you promise to kill Lillith."

"OK," Sam said.


	3. Hide and Seek

Ruby cut her arm. The second Sam smelt her blood, he couldn't resist any more. He walked over to her. "You can only have this if you promise to kill Lillith."

"OK," Sam said. He figured he didn't actually have to keep any promise that he made to a demon.

Sam drank until Ruby pushed him off. "If you want more, go and get it," she said indicating the trapped demons. They looked scared. They knew that Sam Winchester was going to suck them dry. And that is exactly what he did. So much demon blood. It was definitely intoxicating.

"Let's go."

"OK," Sam said. The blood made him forget why he didn't want to kill Lillith. All the hatred came rushing back to him and he just wanted to kill her.

Zachariah transported them to a convent in Ilchester, Maryland.

SSS

Castiel returned to Jimmy's and found Dean and Bobby asleep on the floor. He woke them up. "Where is Sam?" he asked.

"Zachariah and Ruby came and took him away," Dean said.

"I was off trying to find out where Lillith is. I figured if we could find her, we could exorcise her, eliminating the possibility of Sam killing her."

"Great. Where is she?"

"I don't know. I wasn't successful."

SSS

The angel, demon, and Sam were standing outside the convent. Zachariah suddenly froze and listened. "Something is going on upstairs. I need to check it out. You two can take it from here, right?"

Sam and Ruby both nodded. Zachariah disappeared, knowing that Lillith was as good as dead and Lucifer would be raised in no time flat. It was hard being the only angel in on this. He remembered his brother, Lucifer. He had always looked up to him. He had hated Michael for casting him down, but had hidden his feelings, biding his time. Now, he and Lucifer would rule the world. He just needed to keep things on an even keel for a very little while longer.

"Come on, Sam," Ruby said and they entered the convent.

"There are a bunch of demons here," Ruby whispered.

"Are you sure I can take them all on?" Sam whispered back.

"Definitely. You have the blood of five demons in you. You can take on anything."

They approached the inner sanctum of the convent and saw Lillith standing at the altar. She turned around and saw them.

"Are you here to kill me and start the Apocalypse?" Lillith taunted. As she had broken the last few seals, she had decided that maybe she wasn't fully on board with this plan.

"So, it's true," Sam said.

"She's just saying that so you won't kill her. Think about it. If it was true, she would be denying it so that you would kill her," Ruby reasoned. She had to talk Sam into this. The fate of the world was in the balance. Angels and people had done a royal job of screwing up the world. It was the demons turn to to rule.

"Either that, or I'm getting cold feet," Lillith said. "Do you really want to take that chance?"

"But, if you don't kill her, she'll break the last seal. That's the chance you're taking by not killing her," Ruby said.

Sam considered his options. He turned to Lillith and put his hand out towards her, concentrating his psychic power at her. Ruby smirked in the background. She had been waiting for this for centuries. Lucifer would reward her for her efforts. She would be his queen.

SSS

Zachariah was called in to see Michael. "I heard that you were working with the demon Ruby to break the last seal and set our brother free? Is this true?" Michael asked.

"Of course not," Zachariah lied.

"Then what exactly have you been doing?" Michael asked.

"I've been trying to stop it. I've been working undercover."

"Castiel told me that you took Sam Winchester to Ruby."

"No, that's what I let him think. I removed him to a safe location where she wouldn't be able to find him. After all, if I could find him, Ruby would have been able to. I think Castiel is the one who has been working with Ruby."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, he has become very close to his charge, Dean Winchester. The whole Winchester clan is trying to break the seals."

"Why would they do that?" Michael asked. He wanted to believe Zachariah. He had been a loyal brother for longer than Castiel had been alive. However, he did have a soft spot for Castiel. There was just something about him.

"Ruby brainwashed them."

"Sam, maybe. But from what I understand Dean has been firmly against Ruby from the beginning."

"I have proof. Let me go get it and I'll bring it back in an hour," Zachariah promised, knowing that by that time, it should be too late.

"Fine," Michael said. He would be able to find Zachariah if he ran and what difference could an hour make. This conflict had been going on for thousands of years.

SSS

"Is there any way we can find out where Lillith is? Or where Sam is?" Dean asked. They had to stop this.

"Lillith is way too powerful for me to track and I put that sigil on Sam's ribs myself, so I know he's cloaked to me. Zachariah would have no difficulty in cloaking himself against me."

"What about Ruby? She's just a rank-and-file demon. Could you find her?"

"Maybe. If Zachariah hasn't cloaked her."

SSS

Lillith was powerful. Sam was having a hard time grasping her with his mind. His nose was bleeding. It hadn't done that since Samhain.

"You can do it," Ruby coached from the side. She was almost giddy with excitement. Just a couple more minutes, the last seal would be broken.

And then, suddenly Sam was done.


	4. Back Up Plans

"What have you done?" Ruby cried.

"I exorcised her. She can't break the last seal and if she is the last seal, I haven't broken it," Sam said, triumphantly.

"You've ruined everything!" Ruby screamed. This is what she had worked for the last two years? For it to all blow up in her face. She had let Sam have sex with her for crying out loud, and this was the payment she got.

"And, Ruby, you were right. With the juice of five demons, I can take on anything."

"What are you are talking about?"

She soon found out when Sam turned to her and put his hand out and tried to kill her with the skills she had taught him. He fell down to the ground.

"That little stunt you pulled used up all your energy. You won't be able to do anything else without a refill and you sure aren't getting one from me," Ruby declared.

She was tempted to kill Sam, but she thought maybe they could free Lillith again, in which case they would still need Sam. She hoisted him up and dragged him outside. He was too weak to resist.

Zachariah popped up again. "Did he do it?"

"No. He double-crossed us and exorcised her."

Zachariah's eyes widened. When Michael found out what he had done, he was dead. He was counting on Lucifer's protection. "Do you know how to raise her again?"

"The Colt. We'll open the devil's gate again," Ruby said.

"The Colt? Didn't Lillith destroy that?" Sam asked.

"Nope. Crowley has it."

"Who's Crowley?" Sam asked.

"A very powerful crossroads demon. He won't just hand it over. We'll have to buy it."

"Are you sure about this?" Zachariah asked. All the angels were saying it was gone.

"Positive."

"OK, what can we offer?"

SSS

"I've got a lock on Ruby," Castiel announced. Without wasting any time, he touched Dean and they found themselves in front of Sam, Ruby, and Zachariah.

"Since we're done trying to trick Sam, I don't need to be nice to you anymore, Dean," Ruby said and grabbed her knife to stab him.

Castiel intercepted her and touched her forehead and obliterated her.

"Why don't they have to trick you anymore, Sam?" Castiel asked, fearing the worst.

"I didn't kill Lillith, if that's what you're asking. I exorcised her."

"No, but he drank the blood of five demons. There's no recovering from that and you know it," Zachariah gloated. He was so sick of these Winchesters.

"Sammy," Dean said, disappointed.

Sam looked at the ground. He knew Dean wouldn't understand, but he hadn't been able to resist. "I'm sorry."

Dean remembered that Sam hadn't killed Lillith, though. "It's OK, Sammy."

"Dean, he's been changed permanently. He's a monster now," Castiel said. "He can't be permitted to live. He could break that last seal any time."

Zachariah took advantage of their distraction and whisked Sam away.

"Sam!" Dean yelled.

"We'll have to kill him when we find him. I'll do it, if it will be easier for you."

Dean cut him a look. "Nobody's killing my brother. He didn't kill Lillith and he clearly had the chance to do so if he exorcised her."

"But they got her out once, they can do it again. How long do you think Sam will be able to resist?"

Dean sighed. "Let's just find him. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

SSS

"Are you Crowley?" Zachariah asked when they found the demon.

"Yes. What would an angel want with the King of the Crossroads?" Crowley asked.

"We want the Colt," Zachariah answered.

"Is this your boyfriend?" Crowley asked. Zachariah was gripping Sam's arm. He wasn't going to take any chances on Sam getting away.

"What do you want for the Colt?" Zachariah asked, ignoring the question.

"I want him," Crowley said, indicating Sam. "I know exactly who he is, so after he breaks the last seal, he'll be valuable to Lucifer. You promise to deliver him to me, immediately after he kills Lillith and before Lucifer rises, you can have the Colt."

Zachariah shrugged. The smelly human meant nothing to him. He couldn't care less what happened to him after he did his job. "Done."

Crowley handed him the gun. He also snapped his fingers and twelve demons ran up. "I assume Sam needs more fuel. He should be able to get enough from what these guys will let him drink."

Zachariah smiled gratefully that relieved one problem.

Sam tried to resist, but he was an addict. The pull was too great. He drank.

SSS

"Are you sure they'll show up here?" Dean asked Castiel as they stood in front of the devil's gate in Wyoming.

"Yes. This is the easiest and quickest way to get Lillith back up here," Castiel answered.

Proving him right, Zachariah and Sam appeared before them.

Castiel had been waiting, poised with his angel killing sword ready to strike. Zachariah was faster, though, and grabbed the sword away. He let go of Sam so that he could kill Castiel. Sam jumped between them and took the hit.

"NO!" Dean yelled and fell beside his brother.

Castiel grabbed the sword out of Sam, and plunged it into Zachariah.

"I am sorry, Dean," Castiel said. He meant it. He cared about Dean and didn't like to see him hurting. And although Sam had made some bad choices, he had done the right thing in the end. He had saved the world from the Apocalypse by exorcising Lillith and then again by saving Castiel so that he could stop Zachariah from opening the gates. And finally, by sacrificing himself so that nobody could kill Lillith.

Dean heard the flapping of wings behind him and looked up. The last thing he wanted to deal with was another angel.

"Michael," Castiel said.

"Zachariah told me that you were the one trying to start the Apocalypse. I now see that he was lying."

"Can you fix him?" Dean asked, indicating Sam. That was all he cared about.

"We're supposed to stay out of these things as a general rule, but seeing what he just did, I think I can make an exception."

Michael bent down and touched Sam. Sam took in a big breath and sat up. "He's better than he was before. No demon blood."

"Thank you," Dean said.

Michael took the Colt from Zachariah's body. He melted it in his hands. "That should keep Lillith down there for a good long while," Michael said and disappeared.

"Dean, I'm sorry," Sam said.

"For what?" Dean asked. Sam had just saved the world.

"For choosing Ruby over you. For drinking demon blood. For everything."

"It's OK. You did the right thing in the end. That's all that matters," Dean said.

"No. It's not," Sam said. "You were right when you said I was weak. It didn't take very much for Ruby to hook me at all. I missed you so much and felt so guilty about you being in Hell that I let her manipulate me. I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway. Then, when you came back, I stopped for a while, but I went back to it, because we were drifting apart and you wouldn't open up."

"Are you blaming me?" Dean asked, suddenly mad again.

"No. I'm not explaining myself very well. After all the crap I used to give you about being too attached to family, that ended up being my problem. I was afraid of losing you in a different way, so I had to be the one to pull away, so I wouldn't feel rejected. I always felt rejected by Dad and didn't want to feel that way from you. So, I guess I was testing you. Seeing how far I could push you before you pushed me away."

"I never knew you felt that way."

"I never did until after you sold your soul for me. I couldn't understand why you would do that and why you wouldn't resent me for it."

"I'll never resent you for that, Sam. I said it back then and I'll say it again. I couldn't live with you dead. But, you're right. I put too much on you by making that deal. Let's make a deal. No more deals."

"Deal," Sam said and smiled.

The End


End file.
